This year’s user conference, held virtually, brought together more than 1,200 attendees across the globe

Configura, maker of CET space-planning and specification software, held its 14^th annual CET Experience Oct. 26-28. With more than 1,200 people participating from all over the world – 300 more attendees than the previous year’s event – the conference was the company’s largest yet.

Hosted virtually for the second year in a row, CET Experience offered participants nearly 50 presentations and educational sessions across three days and multiple time zones. This year’s conference theme was “Create Together. Create the Future.”

“We were delighted to host an international virtual conference that brought together our global CET community. The event was all about feeding creativity and learning new ways to use CET to bring ideas to life – as well as imagining what’s next for our growing community,” Configura CEO Stefan Persson said.

Held annually in the fall since 2008, CET Experience brings together those who use, create and invest in CET, including designers, dealers, developers, manufacturers, Configura employees and Implementation Partners in the commercial interiors, material handling and kitchen and bath industries. Over the years, the conference location has rotated among the cities of Las Vegas, Orlando and Grand Rapids, Michigan. This and last year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference was held virtually.

Attendees from the Americas, Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia took part in this year’s CET Experience, with plenty of opportunities to connect with one another online. New this year, Configura offered a networking opportunity via https://www.cetexperience.com/community and a social wall at https://www.cetexperience.com/social.

Three keynote presentations led the conference.

Matthew Luhn, director of Blender and previously an animator for Pixar, inspired attendees with stories of his work on the Toy Story films, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, UP, Cars, Ratatouille and more. He shared his process for creating new ideas, great stories and memorable characters, plus how to make stronger connections with clients.

New York-based CET Experience attendee Elizabeth Favreau posted on the conference’s social wall: “My first day of the #cetexperience I was lifted ‘UP’ by an incredible keynote speech by Matthew Luhn. … I cannot wait to see what’s in store for Day 2!”

Keynote speaker Agnes Larsson – who started her career as a software developer at Configura and then joined Mojang as a programmer for the video game Minecraft and now is game director for Vanilla Minecraft – shared her expertise on crafting new experiences using gaming techniques. Configura’s space-planning software solutions – with virtual and augmented reality capabilities – are rooted in gaming technology.

The third keynote speaker was an even more familiar face. Configura Chief Evangelist and Co-Founder Johan Lyreborn, who has spent the last 30 years developing and championing the CET platform, spoke about how the CET community works together to solve problems and enjoy mutual success.

“From the beginning, we’ve always been about community. Even when we compete with one another in the marketplace, when we’re all working to elevate the possibilities of CET to the next level, we all win,” Lyreborn said.

Dozens of other sessions – many presented by CET “Power Users” – users with advanced knowledge of the solution and its many capabilities – educated and entertained attendees with CET tips and tricks as well as design trends and inspiration. Configurans – Configura team members – also presented at the conference. Many of the sessions qualified for Continuing Education Units approved by the International Design Continuing Education Council Inc. (IDCEC).

For those who purchased tickets to attend the recent CET Experience, recordings of the sessions will be available online at https://www.cetexperience.com/agenda.

New this year, Configura hosted virtual exhibitor / sponsor booths – virtual rooms that attendees could visit online during breaks to chat with company representatives about their products and services.

CET Experience 2021 sponsors were Kimball International, OST and Yulio (Diamond level); HON, KiSP, OFS and ProjectMatrix (Gold level); Haworth, JSI, PlatinumEdge Solutions, RSC, Servex, Steelcase, Stylex, Symbiote and The Virtual Interiors Event (Silver level); and Business of Furniture (Media Partner).

Configura also held its annual CET Awards and ceremony in conjunction with the conference. With 128 submissions across multiple categories, it was one of the largest competitions to date. Winners were announced during the conference and in a separate press release.

“From incredible keynote speakers to awesome breakout sessions led by talented CET users to a great CET Awards competition, this was our best conference yet. We hope attendees were energized and ready to create something new after participating in the event,” Kelsey DeBruin, Global Head of User Community & Events, said. “A huge thank you to all who took part, whether as a presenter, sponsor, exhibitor or attendee.”

The 15^th annual CET Experience will be held in person Oct. 26-27, 2022, at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids Michigan. More information in the coming months will be shared at https://www.cetexperience.com/.